It isn't about the employee choosing to do a shitty job because the pay is low. It is about the super talented, smart, ambitious person never going into the field in the first place because the pay is shitty.

I'd say that super talented, smart, and ambitious describe a finer gradation of employee than the simple good/bad in the earlier comments. It's just my opinion, but, as in most occupations, you don't have to be the cream of the crop to be a good employee.